And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person or Persons shall be sued for any Matter or Thing which he shall do in Execution of this Act, he may plead the General Issue, and give the special Matter in Evidence: And if the Verdict shall pass for the Defendant, or the Plaintiff shall be nonsuited, or discontinue his Suit, the Defendant shall recover his Treble Costs. And this Act shall be taken and be allowed in all Courts within this Kingdom as a Public Act; and all Judges and Justices are hereby required, as such, to take Notice thereof, without specially Pleading the same; and all Mayors, Justices, Sheriffs, Bayliffs, Constables, and all other Officers and Ministers of Justice, are hereby required to be aiding and assisting to the said Corporation, and to such Officers as shall be employed by them, or any of them, in Execution of this Act, or any of the Powers or Authorities hereby given. AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE Corporation of Bristol, In Execution of the Act of Parliament For the Better Employing and Maintaining the POOR Of That CITY. TO THE Right Honourable AND HONOURABLE, THE Lords Spiritual and Temporal, AND Commons in Parliament assembled. May it please your Honours, I HUMBLY make bold to lay before You, an Account of our Proceedings in the City of _Bristol_, on the Act of Parliament for Erecting Hospitals and Work-houses for the better employing and maintaining the Poor of that City, which passed in the first Sessions of the Parliament begun at _Westminster_ the 22d of _November_, 1695, whereby the Power invested in the Corporation commenced from the 12th of _May_ 1696. The first Thing we did, was to choose four Guardians for each of our twelve Wards, as the Statute directs, which, with the Mayor and Aldermen, amounted to sixty Guardians, and made up our Court. The Court being thus constituted, at our first Meeting we chose our Officers appointed by the said Act, _viz._ a Governor, a Deputy-Governor, twelve Assistants, a Treasurer, a Clerk, and a Beadle. This being done, we order’d the Guardians who dwelt in each Parish, to bring in an Account of all the Poor in their respective Parishes, their Names, Ages, Sexes, and Qualifications. Also an Account of the Charges expended for maintaining them in each of the last three Years, that so we might bring it to a _Medium_. We also appointed certain standing Rules for the better governing our Debates, and ordered all Things done in the Court to be fairly enter’d in a Journal. We likewise considered which would be most for the advantage of the Corporation, to build Work-houses, or to purchase such Houses, which being already built, might be alter’d and made fit for our purpose. These Things spent much Time, and it was about the Month of _September_ before we could settle the _Medium_ of the Poor’s Rates, in order to certify to the Mayor and Aldermen what Sum was necessary to be raised on the City for the next Year.